It is a blessing, a warning, and a sign that these Six Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of His Time have resurfaced at this particular moment in history. Renewed by caliphs and sultans, supported by scores of fatwas, and accepted as law for nearly 1400 years, these documents were common knowledge to educated Muslims and Christians until the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, after which they virtually disappeared from collective consciousness. Their rediscovery will certainly open a new field in both Islamic Studies and interfaith relations. As the written words of the Prophet Muhammad himself, peace and blessings be upon him, and a central part of the Sunnah, they should sit side by side with the Qur’an in both mosque and home. If Muslims are ever to recover the reality of Islam and undergo a collective awakening, these covenants of hope will play a major part in that restoration. Those wishing to familiarize themselves with Dr. Morrow’s exhaustive arguments supporting the authenticity of these Covenants should refer to The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World (Angelico, 2013).

Dr. Morrow has done unprecedented research on the message of peace that Prophet Muhammad left for Muslims as well as non-Muslims. Morrow’s research will surely be recognized by the best scholars for many years to come.

May God bless and protect John on his journey of sharing this knowledge with the world.

No other leader in world history has been more scrutinized and ridiculed than Prophet Muhammad. Since the founding of Islam in 632 AD, Christians and Jews have described the Prophet of Allah as a blasphemer, bigot, terrorist, and pedophile, among other slurs. However, according to a new book The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World (published by Angelico Press, 2013), these accusations are found to be dishonest, prejudiced, and not based on sound scholarship.

This interview with Dr. John Andrew Morrow, Islamic scholar and author of the new book The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World (Angelico Press, 2013), is a follow-up to my review “New Book Sheds Light on Prophet Muhammad’s Interfaith Views.” In his response, Dr. Morrow brings us on his journey to Islam, his research on the life of Prophet Muhammad, and his spiritual quest to find divine unity among the people of the world. My interest in his scholarship arises from my desire to understand Prophet Muhammad’s legacy, which I have recently touched upon in the article “What Studying Muhammad Taught Me About Islam.” I find Dr. Morrow’s words uplifting and inspiring, and I am sure they will be to others as well.

I recently conducted an interview with Dr. John Andrew Morrow, scholar of Islam and author of the book The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World. This interview was a follow-up to my review of his book, which you can read at “New Book Sheds Light on Prophet Muhammad’s Interfaith Views.” The passage below is the answer he provided to my question: “If you could give one piece of advice to Christians and Muslims worldwide, what would that be?”

In the ancient monastery of Saint Catherine’s at Mount Sinai in Egypt, there is a covenant of Prophet Muhammad’s in which he guarantees protection and other rights to the Christian communities of his realm.

But a retired Egyptian army general says he has filed a court case pushing for Saint Catherine’s to be demolished, thus displacing its Greek monks and potentially endangering Prophet Muhammad’s covenant.

6 thoughts on “A Must Read: “Six Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of His Time: The Primary Documents””

1. Dr Morrow is a Muslim convert so his impartiality must be questioned. For instance he regards Mohammed as “a man of sublime character. He was the embodiment of ethical excellence”. This despite the atrocities his greatest admirers (Bukhari, Muslim etc) tell us he committed.

2. These covenants are of dubious authenticity. Correct me if I am wrong but I am under the impression that none of the originals exist.

3. The tolerance supposedly exhibited in these covenants extends only to Christians under Muslim control ie dhimmis. The choice Mohammed offers us is still conversion, dhimmitude (just a nicer version of) or the sword.

I havn’t yet read Dr Morrow’s book but since Mr Considine has I would be grateful if he could explain why Mohammed would write covenants of protection for groups of Christians who weren’t under Muslim control and would not be for at least ten years after his death.